14th British Columbia Paleontological Symposium 2023 Victoria

• Bone Clones, Inc., Osteological Reproductions
• Brett Ford
• Cameron Dillon, freelance artist
• Carol Barbon, VicPS member
• Taylor Custom Science Gifts
• Daniel Eskridge, artist
• Dino Lab, Inc.
• Dr. Beth Shapiro, author, professor at UC Santa Cruz
• Dr. Dale Greenwalt, author
• Dr. Jim Haggart, Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), adjunct professor UBC
• Dr. Neil Shubin, author, professor at University of Chicago
• Effin’ Birds
• Engraved Elegance by G
• Estwing
• Fran Benton, VicPS member
• Frankie’s Modern Diner
• WorkspaceStudio
• Scientifiques Jewelry
• Marji Johns, VicPS member
• Massimo Molinero – maxmolinero_digitalart, artist
• Matt Kracht, author
• Studio 252MYA
• Northern Formations
• Outland Living
• Palaeoiris
• Queen Bee Farms
• Raven Amos, artist
• Ray Troll, artist
• The Robot Princess
• Steve Jackson Games
• Stoic3D, David Jaloza
• TeeTurtle Games
• The Raptors

The preliminary schedule, below, will be refined as abstracts are received, registration numbers confirmed, and activities finalized. Check back often for updates.

The Burgess Shale Fossil Deposit of Marble Canyon in Kootenay National Park: Retrospective of the Last 10 Years of Research

In Southeastern BC, the Burgess Shale is the internationally renowned site that keeps on giving.  Symposium 2023 welcomes you on a journey through the past decade, featuring the field research and expertise of:

Dr. Jean-Bernard Caron, Richard M. Ivey Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.

Dr. Caron leads regular fieldwork activities to the Canadian Rockies primarily to study how the Burgess Shale biota changed through space and time in response to ecological, evolutionary and environmental factors. Field-based research is an important aspect of his work and his research lab primarily focuses on fossilization processes, ecology, phylogeny, and diversity of Burgess Shale animals.

Tracking vertebrates from two eras on two continents

Northern BC is home to our second keynote speaker, Dr. Charles Helm, who is trekking two continents in search of tracks. 

Dr. Charles Helm, Research Associate at the Tumbler Ridge Museum and at the African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa is currently pursuing his PhD in paleontology in the Department of Geoscience, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa.

His paleontological research interests are in Pleistocene vertebrate tracks in South Africa (including hominin tracks and traces) and Cretaceous vertebrate tracks in northern British Columbia.  Many of you will know Dr. Helm as founder of the Tumbler Ridge Museum Foundation in 2002. He developed the proposal that led to the creation of the Tumbler Ridge UNESCO Global Geopark in 2014, and was its first President.

Times and dates for keynotes will be confirmed as the schedule comes together.

Here are the abstracts for presentations and posters submitted to date. We thank those people who have contributed their research and findings, and look forward to seeing and hearing from them at the symposium.

Workshops (hands-on and demonstrations) are scheduled for Friday, June 9th. Pre-registration for workshops is required. Further details of workshops will be provided as they are finalized. Additional fees may apply, to be confirmed when online registration opens. Workshops under development include:

• • Sutures, Septas and Siphuncles: Identifying Ammonites with Ease

    If you want to know your Bostrychoceras from your Glyptoxoceras, this workshop’s for you! Ammonites are the most abundant fossil cephalopods on the planet. With over 1,500 recorded genera and 10,000 species, identification can be daunting. In this 2-hour, hands-on workshop, BCPA Chair Dan Bowen will share tips and tricks for ammonite identification including basic terminology, morphology and key diagnostic characteristics as they relate to the most common ammonites found in BC. Test your new-found skills on workshop specimens, or bring your own specimens for practice.

    The first half of the workshop will be a PowerPoint presentation of over 30 different species of ammonites, including two species of nautilus from the Upper Cretaceous of Vancouver Island. In the second half of the presentation, we will do a hands on identification exercise with the participants.

  • • The Aura is in the Flora*: Identifying Cretaceous plant compression fossils

      Do you feel a little intimidated and dismayed when you look at your box of unidentified Cretaceous plant fossils? No worries. With a little botany and a few (provided) research papers, you will be on your way to filling in those nasty gaps in your fossil collection inventory.

      Upper Cretaceous plant leaf compression fossils are found at a number of sites on Vancouver Island, and may number almost 90 species (Bell 1957). These fossils will be the main focus of the workshop led by Joe Morin of the Vancouver Island Paleontological Society.

      The first half of the workshop is a Powerpoint presentation. There will be a brief review of the main plant families, in particular the families we are likely to collect locally. Regretfully, there will need to be a short segment on the Classification of Dicotyledonous Leaf Architecture. Phew! We will also briefly review the important but easy cellulose acetate peel technique, and finish the Powerpoint with a Lower Cretaceous leaf case study.

      The second half of the workshop will be a hands-on leaf identification party! Joe will have on hand a number of his local Cretaceous fossil leaves to examine. We will work in groups, choose any of the leaves, and work through the process to identify. Do not hesitate to bring along your own fossil leaves instead! Also bring along a small flashlight and a good magnifying glass if possible.

      Note* If “The Data is in the Strata” Ray Troll, paleontological theorem #1, then axiomatically “The Aura is in the Flora”

Have an idea for a workshop, or want to offer one? Your suggestions or leadership offers are welcome. Budget is available to cover associated costs (e.g., materials, guidebooks). If interested, please contact us: vicpalaeo@gmail.com. To assist with administration, please state the following in your email title:

• • “R/E Workshop Option”.

Tours are planned for Friday, June 9^th.  The following tours are free. Pre-registration is required:

• Chemical, analytical and isotope facilities (e.g., http://web.uvic.ca/~icpmslab/) within the Bob Wright Centre that have been applied in paleontological research projects.
• Advanced Microscopy Facility tours (https://www.uvic.ca/research/advancedmicroscopy/), with examples of applications in paleontology.
• Tour(s) of the paleontology collections and related facilities at the Royal British Columbia
• Museum (RBCM) downtown (https://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/collections/natural-history/palaeontology).
• A tour of BC Government House and grounds is an option if it works with the final itinerary. The 36-acre property and gardens are beautiful in June.

The intent is for tours to be no charge, if and where possible.

Three fieldtrips are scheduled for Monday, June 12^th. Pre-registration is required.  Departures and details to be provided closer to the date.  Fieldtrips are weather dependent.  If cancelled, refunds will be issued.

Fieldtrip 1:  The Collision Zone Beach Tour – with Marji Johns

The Cenozoic Carmanah Group sedimentary basin at the collision zone between the Wrangellian, Pacific Rim and Crescent terranes (west coast of Vancouver  Island): How paleontology helped to unravel this geological history.  This all-day tour (approx. 13 hrs) will take you on a very scenic coastal trip with views (on a clear day) of the Olympic Mountains across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Visitors will learn from Marji Johns, retired BC micropaleontologist & geoscientist, about the geological evolution of the SW west coast of  Vancouver Island with a specific focus on the Carmanah Group (CG) sediments (~36–25 Ma) and two island (Pacific Rim and Crescent) terrane collisions with Vancouver Island (Wrangellia). It will includes stops at several sites along the way. The sites are all within parks, therefore fossil collecting is not permitted.

Participants must be capable of hiking several kilometres along rocky shorelines and trails. Transportation, box lunch/snacks, water and field guide will be supplied. 

Fieldtrip 2:  Muir Creek Research Tour

The Cenozoic Carmanah Group (Muller et al. 1981) is also exposed at Muir Creek, located just over an hour from Victoria.  Here you will find exposures of the Sooke Formation, which is the youngest component of the Tertiary sediments along southwestern British Columbia in the Carmanah Group. The exact age of the Formation is estimated to be approximately 25M years (late Oligocene)  based largely on the abundant mulluscan fauna and microscopic fossils called foraminifers.  A comprehensive study of the Sooke Formation fossils (collected mostly in the Muir Creek area) was by Clark and Arnold (1923).  Conservative and selective collecting along this stretch of public beach is permitted.  Participants must be capable of walking on uneven ground. Transportation, box lunch/snacks, water and field guide will be supplied. 

Fieldtrip 3: Chemainus River

Cliffs along the deep canyon of the Chemainus River expose the grey, fossiliferous concretionary mudstones and siltstones of the Haslam Formation.  Evidence provided by foraminifera, trace fossils, and macrofossils suggests deposition of these sediments took place in marine outer shelf and upper slope environments during late Santonian to early Campanian time. This shallow sea environment was populated by molluscs, fishes, and giant marine reptiles. Some fossils, such as clams and snails, are similar to modern relatives. Others, such as the extinct ammonites, have no modern counterpart. This provides an excellent opportunity to explore changing life and environment over geological time. Participants must be capable of climbing moderate inclines and fording streams. Transportation, box lunch/snacks, water and field guide will be supplied. 

The Bob Wright Centre, University of Victoria School of Earth & Ocean Sciences is the main venue for the symposium. It is located at 9882 Ring Rd at the University of Victoria (map below). The following will take place at the Bob Wright Centre, School of Earth & Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria:

• Presentations
• Poster displays
• Fossil displays
• Workshops
• Tours of paleontology-related technology at the University of Victoria

Find out about getting here.

Saturday evening Awards Dinner is included in the registration fee; for planning purposes, pre-registration is required.  Additional tickets are available for purchase should you have guests. Dinner will provide an opportunity to relax, mingle and recognize the contributions of non-professionals to the advancement of paleontology in BC.

A silent auction will take place during the Awards Dinner. Details as to bidding on items offered will be forthcoming as the dinner approaches. Meanwhile, please check out the growing list of silent auction items from our generous supporters.

The Rene Savenye Award honours an amateur paleontologist who has demonstrated outstanding service to the science of paleontology or to paleontological education in British Columbia. It is awarded periodically, by nomination. If you would like to nominate a non-professional for this award, please review previous award recipients Rene Savenye Award (bcfossils.ca) and contact the BC Paleontological Alliance at Contact Us (bcfossils.ca).

The conference is planned to be in-person only. The planning committee is paying close attention to guidelines from the BC Provincial Government and the Provincial Health Officer (PHO) regarding gatherings and events. Should restrictions related to events, vaccination, and/or masks be reinstated, we will adapt our plans accordingly. We recommend all attendees be vaccinated and boosted, and request attendees self-monitor for symptoms and self-test prior to arrival. Please do not attend if you have a positive test, or if you develop symptoms associated with COVID-19. We strongly encourage all attendees to consider wearing a mask when in proximity to others.

The time period in which to submit abstracts has now closed.

Abstracts for oral presentations and posters should be no longer than 500 words excluding title, author(s)’s name(s), address and email address. Photographs and other graphics are encouraged and will be printed in the Abstracts booklet associated with the abstract description. Please respect copyrighted material and obtain permission to use where applicable.

Abstracts should be submitted by 11:59 PST, Mar. 18, 2023.

The duration of each talk and its follow-up Q&A will be decided once the full program is established.

The time period in which to submit posters has now closed.

Poster dimensions should not exceed 4 feet by 4 feet (122 cm x 122 cm). Display boards and pins will be provided. Posters are to be mounted beginning Friday morning, 8:00 am June 9th, and mounted no later than 10:00 am on Saturday, June 10th. Posters can be taken down at the end of the talks on Sunday June 11th .

Step 1: 

Please review the information on this website (workshops, tours, field trips, etc.) prior to registering. Pre-registration for all activities (free and paid) is required for planning purposes.

Step 2:

Please register using this form. Earlybird (discounted) registration ends March 3!

Further events may be added; periodically check this site to ensure you don’t miss out!

Secure space is available to showcase fossil collections. Please contact vicpalaeo@gmail.com or 250-812-3970 if interested. To assist administration, please put the following in the subject line:

• R/E Fossil Display

Registrants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation.

Victoria has a wide array of hotels, motels, and Airbnb locations, and UVic has ample student and visitor accommodation on campus (including some new facilities), with food services and parking (see https://www.uvic.ca/residence/visitors/index.php). Tourist influx will be growing in early June so early bookings are advisable; less pressure should be present for on-campus accommodation.

The UVic website provides several campus maps (e.g.,
https://uvgeog.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=da45c0ae06724327bc122219083141b8)

UVic is located on the north-east side of Victoria, an approximate 15-20 minute drive/bus from downtown. If not using your own mode of transportation, the city bus system has several routes servicing UVic (e.g., https://bctransit.com/victoria/schedules-and-maps/route-overview?route=4). The Evo car share operates in Victoria, with parking available at UVic for vehicles from the Evo Victoria “home zone”.

Victoria is serviced from Vancouver by BC Ferries and an international airport north of the city. The Coho ferry brings visitors and their vehicles to Victoria from Port Angeles, Washington, while the Clipper ferry provides a passenger service between Seattle and Victoria.